NJ Transit fare holiday begins following summer of service disruptions
HOBOKEN, New Jersey (WABC) -- After a summer of frustrating delays and cancellations, New Jersey Transit is trying to make it up to riders.
Starting Monday, all fares on buses and trains are waived through Labor Day.
The agency is calling this a fare holiday but it comes during a week when many riders are on their final summer vacation and ultimately, a lot of customers are going to miss out on the free rides.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy called the holiday a big thank you to all the loyal customers who have been dealing with delays and cancellations.
Those who purchase monthly passes for August will get a discount for the month of September.
The issue with service dominated headlines in June, when equipment problems seemed to plague the entire system weekly.
Many of the problems were on the Northeast Corridor, where trains got stuck in the Hudson River tunnels, trapping passengers in cars without air conditioning.
New Jersey Transit increased fares by 15 percent around this time, upsetting riders who were already bearing the brunt of all the service problems.
The fare holiday will last until Sept. 2.
Some riders told Eyewitness News that despite the holiday lasting just a week, any amount of savings will help.
"It saves a lot of money and at the end that can go a long way to help the children. I have four kids so that's a good thing," said customer Mananu Abtuia.
This is a good time to try out the service, and if congestion pricing plans resume, many may rely on New Jersey Transit to avoid paying extra to go into lower Manhattan.
In June, the on-time performance for NJ Transit was just 69 percent. That number is usually around 80 percent.
ALSO READ: Trouble ahead, trouble behind for frustrated NJ Transit commuters
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